Car-coupling



(No Model.)

' S.. NTQBLE.

GAE GQU'PBING.

No. 486,601. Patented Nov. 22, 1892.

WITNESSES. INVENTOH ATTORNEY;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL CLARK NOBLE, OF OVERPECK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO N. B. TUBES, OFHAMILTON, OHIO.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 486,601, dated November22, 1892.

Application filed September 1, 1892. Serial No. 444,835. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL CLARK NOBLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Overpeck, in the county of Butler and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in CanCouplers; and I dodeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to figures of reference marked thereon, whichform a part of this specification.

My invention relates to car-couplers, and has for its object to producea coupler that can be operated from the side of the car, and also onethat canbe used in connection with any of the couplers now in use; andit conslsts in the improved construction of the parts, as will be morefully hereinafter set forth.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which the samereference-numerals indicate corresponding parts in each of the views,Figure 1 is a perspective view of the end of a car-provided with myimproved coupler. Fig. 2 is a broken perspective view, on an enlargedscale, of the coupler. Figs. 3 and 4 are longitudinal sectional views ofthe drawhead, and Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 indicates the car; 2, thedraw-bar; 3, the pin for effecting the coupling, and 4 the lever foroperating the pin. The outer end of the draw-bar is provided with theusual recess 5 for the reception of the link, and also with twotransverse holes 6 and 7, one of v which extends through the bar at therear of the recess and the other one extends through the side walls ofthe recess. The upper and lower walls of the draw-bar are beveled orinclined at their outer ends. The draw-bar may be secured to the car inany desired manner, and therefore I have not deemed it necessary to showor describe such fastening more fully.

The pin for effecting the coupling consists of a substantially-U-shapedpiece of metal, one arm of which is longer than the other and is formedinto or provided with an eye 8, by means of which it is connected withthe lever by the link 9. The longer arm of the pin extends through thehole in the draw-bar to the rear of the recess, and the shorter armextends through the holes in the walls of the recess. The length of theshorter arm of the pin is such that when it is thrown back, as shown inFig. 2, its end will be entirely Withdrawn from the recess of thedraw-bar; but when the coupling is effected it will be projected acrossthe recess and into the hole in the opposite side wall. By having thelonger portion of the pin through the solid portion of the draw-bar agood substantial bearing is secured for the pin, whereby it may be movedback and forth without any danger of the shorter arm catching orengaging with the opposite side wall when the coupling is beingeffected. This bearing of the longer arm of the pin is necessary topermit of the holes in the walls of the draw-bar being made large enoughto permit the short arm being moved back and forth even after it hasbeen slightly bent by the severe strains to which it is subjected instarting heavily-loaded trains, and also the accidental bending of itspoint by being struck by the end of the entering link if the attendantshould happen to move the pin too soon.

The lever for operating the link is pivotally secured to one end of thecar near the outside, so that it can be operated without the attendantentering between the cars. The link 9, which is connected to the longend of the pin, is pivotally connected to the short end of the lever andis provided with a slight bend or crook 10, which will permit of thelever being thrown inward, so as to draw the link outward without thelink engaging the pivotal pin of the lever. In this manner the lever canbe made to lock the pin in the drawbar in either position-that is,either before the coupling is effected or after-as in either case theconnection of the link with the lever will be substantially on a linewith the pivotal point of the lever and the end of the pin in thedraw-bar, thereby forming a dead-center which will prevent the movementof the pin in either direction. The inward movement of the lever islimited by the engagement of the link 9 with the pivotal pin of thelever, and the outward movement of the lever is limited by a pin 11 orother stop, which is secured to the side of the car and stops the leverwhen the pin has been forced back so that its short arm is entirely outof the recess in the draw-bar.

As above described, it will be seen that my coupling is strong andefficient and that it can be used in connection with other couplings andcan also be used in connection with ears of different height. \Vhenbeing used with cars having a draw-bar lower than my coupler, the end ofthe link from the lower draw-bar will be deflected upward by theinclined surface 12 of the bottom of the drawbar of my coupler, as shownin Fig. 3, and when being used with a car whose draw-head is higher thanmy coupler the link from the higher draw-bar will enter the inclinedportion of my draw-bar. As soon as the link has entered the recess inthe draw-bar the lever is swung upon its pivot, which will draw theshort arm of the pin across the recess and into the opening in theopposite wall of the recess, and thus secure the link against removaluntil the pin has been withdrawn by the outward movement of the lever.

In operation the attendant stands at the side of the car, and by movingthe lever in or out, as the case may be, the pin in the drawbar is movedaccordingly, and thus the coupling or uncoupling is effected without anydan ger of the attendant being caught between the cars, as frequentlyhappens where he is compelled to enter and make the coupling with theordinary link and pin. Of course each end of the car will be providedwith the mechanism shown and described above, and two levers may be usedat each end, so that the coupling can be effected from either side ofthe ear.

Itis evidentthatotherchanges may be made without departing from my inventiona for instance, a rack and gear-wheel may be substituted for thelever for moving the pin back and forthand therefore I do not wish tolimit myself to the exact construction shown.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. In a car-coupler, thecombination, with a draw-bar, the outer end of which is provided with arecess and two transverse openings, one of which is through the draw-barto the rear of the recess and the other is through the walls of therecess, of a substantially U shaped pin, one arm of which is longer thanthe other one and passes through the opening to the rear of the recess,and means for moving the pin in said openings, substantially as setforth.

2. In a car-coupler, the combination, with a draw-bar, the outer end ofwhich is provided with a recess and two transverse openings, one ofwhich passes through the walls of the recess and the other one passesthrough the bar to the rear of the recess, of a substantially- U-shapedpin in said draw-bar, a lever pivoted to the side of the car, and a linkconnecting one end of the lever and the end of the longer arm of thepin,substantiallyas set forth.

3. In a car-coupler, the combination, with a draw-bar, the outer end ofwhich is provided with a recess and two transverse openings, of asnbstantially-U-shaped pin in said openings, a lever pivoted to the sideof the car, a link connecting one arm of the link with the arm of thelever and provided with a short crook near the connection with thelever, whereby the lever may be swung upon its pivot without the linkengaging with said pivot, and a stop on the other side of the pivot forlimiting the movement of the lever in the opposite direction,substantially as set forth.

4. In a car-coupler, the combination, with a draw-bar, the outer end ofwhich is provided with a recess, the bottom wall of the recess beingslightly inclined at its outer end and the upper portion of the barbeing cut away, said draw-bar being provided with two transverseopenings, one of which passes through the walls of the recess and theother passes through the solid portion of the bar to the rear of therecess, of a substantially- U -shaped pin in said openings, one arm ofwhich is longer than the other and fits snugly in the opening at therear of the recess and the shorter arm fits loosely in the openings inthe wall of the recess, and means for moving the pin back and forththrough said openings, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL CLARK NOBLE.

Witnesses:

WM. S. GIFFEN, STANLEY SHAFFER.

